


The Fear You Won't Fall

by Sparrowsverse



Category: Bandom, Disney RPF, Jonas Brothers, The Academy Is...
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-05-20
Updated: 2011-05-20
Packaged: 2017-10-19 15:01:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/202131
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sparrowsverse/pseuds/Sparrowsverse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After receiving life-changing news, Kevin Jonas has to find the strength to carry on with the love and support of his family.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So my first foray into the Skippy fandom and I go with h/c, lol. I am such a mean author abusing Kevin and Mike like this. I just wanted to thank daroos for the medical help and akire_yta for the hand holding, listening to my flailing and help. She is an awesome cheerleader. :D Also, thank you to laine89 for the wonderful beta!

Shaky and pale, Kevin slowly exited the doctor’s office.

He’d been feeling tired and nauseated the past few months, but he had attributed it to tour-tiredness. But with the tour over and the symptoms persisted, this time with fevers he couldn’t shake, breathing difficulties and huge bruises that started to appear all over his body.

Blood had been drawn, and a few tests, x-rays and a biopsy had been taken a couple of weeks ago and now he had an answer as to why he was like this.

It was...it was...he couldn’t even think of the word.

Taking a deep breath, Kevin finally whispered the word aloud. “Cancer.”

What was he going to tell his family? What was he going to tell Mike?

The doctor’s office wanted to start chemotherapy treatments right away, but Kevin needed a day or so to get things organized on his end before starting _all_ of this.

Hands shaking as he slowly slid behind the wheel of his vehicle, Kevin felt tears starting to prickle the corner of his eyes and then big shuddering sobs escaped from him as he broke.

Slamming his hands on the steering wheel as he hunched over, tears dripping down his cheeks, Kevin poured out his grief and rage. After a few minutes he tried to settle down and sucked in big gulps of air.

 _Okay, he could do this._ Wiping his face free of tears, he slid his key into the ignition. Kevin turned the car on and pulled out of the parking lot.

He made it home in record time.

No one would be there.

It was just him and his dog; Danielle and him had split up and divorced two years ago. He had met Mike a year ago and they were happy with what time they could get together.

Mike was the guitarist for The Academy Is..., and while Kevin had come out to his family and friends, Mike had not.

Kevin was still a secret to Mike’s friends and family, which was fine with Kevin. He understood that Mike wasn’t ready to ‘come out’ yet; he wouldn’t pressure Mike. But right now, all he wanted was Mike.

Pulling out his cell phone, he texted a quick message to Mike.

 _i wish i could just hug u right now_

Placing his cell on the nightstand, Kevin collapsed onto his bed on top of the covers and whistled for his dog Riley. The yorkie jumped up onto the bed, and Kevin pulled him close and buried his face into the fur.

He didn’t know what to do.

His cell rumbled on his nightstand, picking it up, he smiled softly at the response. _i wish i could just hug u right now too_

Sighing, he placed it back on the table and curled in close to Riley.

Most of what was discussed in the doctor’s office made Kevin’s head hurt—what kind of treatments could be taken, chemotherapy and side effects.

His cancer even had a name—chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

It often appeared in men much older than him, age fifty. He was one of the rare ones where it appeared early in his age. He had had it for a while, the tests told the doctor, but they had caught it early enough, which apparently was good. But it still scared him.

His doctor even said that it was treatable and his cancer ( _his cancer!_ ) had a very good chance in going into remission. They just had to find a suitable blood marrow donor and beat the cancer back with chemotherapy.

 _Easy peasy, apparently._ Kevin thought and choked back a sob as he petted Riley.

The doctor could pretty it up as much as he liked with statistics and facts and how Kevin had a good chance, but the fact was—he had ‘The Big C’.

And all he wanted right now was his family and Mike. Especially Mike.

As he breathed deeply, Kevin gave Riley one last scratch near his ears and sat up on the edge of his bed. Shuddering, Kevin ran his hands through his face and then his hair. He paused with a small fistful of hair caught in his fingers. _Was he going to lose his hair?_

That was a silly thought. Here he was—sick—and he was thinking about his hair.

Shaking his head, Kevin grabbed his cell and pressed the contact number to phone his Mom. He had to tell them. He had to tell his family. But he didn’t know how to tell _him._

A tear tracked down his cheek as his Mom answered the phone.

“Hey Mom,” Kevin’s voice cracked. “Yeah, I just got back from the doctor’s office. I need to call a family meeting.” He paused at his Mom asking a question, shaking his head before realizing she couldn’t see him. “No, Mom. It’s not good.”

He’d tell his family at the family meeting tonight and then he’d tell Mike when he was in later this week.

The Academy Is... was in town this week for some recording, and Mike said he’d be able to slip away to meet up. Kevin could last that long; he could be strong for that long.

~~~

Kevin sat perched at the end of the couch in his family home, near the armrest, hands clasped in front of him with his head bowed. He just shared his big news with the family, and right now, it was silent.

“You’re joking right, Kev?” Nick asked incredulously.

Shaking his head no, Kevin hunched in further into himself. “The doctor said he caught it early enough that it has a very good chance of going into remission.”

“What kind of chance?” Mr. Jonas asked, subdued.

“About eighty percent,” Kevin recited. “I haven’t had much of a chance to do any kind of research. I just got the news today.”

Mrs. Jonas came up and sat beside Kevin, pulling him into a hug. “Have you told Mike yet, sweetie?”

“No,” Kevin whispered as he leaned into his Mom. “I was going to wait until I saw him in person later this week. I couldn’t tell him over the phone.” He bit back a sob. “It didn’t feel right.”

“W-w-when,” Joe stammered, then swallowed and tried again. “When do you start chemo?”

“They wanted me to start today, but I needed a day to tell all of you,” Kevin said, wringing his hands. “So I said I would start tomorrow.”

“You should’ve started today, Kevin,” Mr. Jonas admonished, a hand on Frankie’s shoulder.

“What difference would’ve it had made, Dad?” Kevin exploded as he stood up out of his Mom’s hug. “Today? Tomorrow? I’ll still have cancer! I just wanted one day!” And then to his horror, tears started to trail down his cheeks as he tried to bit back the choking sobs that threatened to erupt from his throat. Joe and Nick came up beside Kevin and embraced him in a tight hug.

They whispered words of comfort as they stroked his back and arms.

Slowly getting control of himself, Kevin leaned against his brothers. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean— I didn’t mean to—”

“Kevin,” Nick said firmly and Kevin found himself looking into Nick’s face. “It’s okay, big bro.” A forced laugh escaped from Nick’s lips. “I think if anyone deserves to break down a little bit right now, it’s you.”

Kevin let his own laugh escape from his lips as he felt Nick and Joe hug him harder. His Mom and Dad joined them a few seconds later as Frankie wormed his way in between legs and hugged Kevin around the waist.

“We’re here for you, Kevin,” Frankie promised.

~~~

Kevin started chemotherapy the next day. The medicine felt like it was burning his veins away as it coursed through him. Attacking the cancerous cells that threatened his life.

He was essentially poisoning himself to get better.

And his entire family was here to see him do this, making him feel loved and blessed that he had his family’s support in all of this.

The nurse smiled at him as she removed the IV, pressured the wound with a cotton ball and taped it up. “All done sweetie.”

Kevin tried to muster up a smile at the nurse, but it felt forced and fake. The chemotherapy would be administered in cycles where a treatment period would be followed by a break period. The purpose of this kind of treatment was to achieve a complete remission.

Complete remission—he could only hope and pray. His faith right now was kind of shaky, though.

God never gave anyone more than they could handle, but right now, it felt like too much.

He will have about eight weeks of treatments followed by his break period, where the hospital staff will test his blood count and see how it is. In the meantime, his family will look at the option of donating marrow to him and how it can help him out.

They will all undergo some type of testing to see if their marrow is viable enough to help him. There are better chances in finding healthy marrow in family members. If there are no matches, the hospital will look at their donor pool and see if anyone there is a match for him.

Bundled up, hats and sunglasses on, the family herded him out of the hospital and into two separate vehicles—Nick, Joe and Kevin in one vehicle and Mr. and Mrs. Jonas with Frankie in the other. They pulled out of the hospital and headed towards Kevin’s home.

Kevin wanted to do this in his own home, and his brothers were going to move in for a bit. His mom and dad wanted him to move back to their home, but if he was going to be sick and get better, he needed it somewhere he felt comfortable and safe.

His parent’s house—he didn’t feel that comfort or that safety there anymore. It wasn’t home.

Sighing as the car pulled up to the gated community, Kevin heard Nick entering in the code and just stared as the scenery passed them by. The car paused in front of his house, and he got out.

He felt tired and out of place in his own body.

“You doing alright there, Kevin?” Joe asked as he and Nick flanked Kevin.

“Just tired,” Kevin mumbled. “Going to go take a nap.”

“Okay, Kev,” Nick agreed and hugged Kevin. “Just get some rest big bro.”

Smiling softly, Kevin returned the hug and then reluctantly let go to head into the house.

Nick and Joe watched in concern as their parents pulled up with Frankie.

“This is all kinds of messed up, Nick,” Joe groused as he ran a hand through his hair.

“I know,” Nick agreed. “Just, why? Why him?”

Joe wordlessly pulled Nick into a hug and then the two followed their parents and Frankie into the house.

~~~

Mike was frustrated.

He was supposed to have been sneaking away to go see Kevin a couple of days ago, but recording ran a bit longer than anticipated and William had a sudden inspiration on a song that had been plaguing the band for a while now.

And while Mike understood inspiration just happened and you had to go with the flow, it interrupted his time with Kevin.

When he managed to get away a couple days ago to phone and let Kevin know of the delay, he felt that there was something missing. Kevin’s voice sounded forced and fake. It sounded wrong to Mike and he wanted to get over there right away to sooth whatever issue was making Kevin sound like that.

Angrily kicking his guitar case shut, instrument put away, Mike could only sigh out his frustration as they finished recording for the day.

“Michael!” William cried out as he draped his body over Mike. “Why so glum, chum?”

“Get off,” Mike growled out and pushed William off of him.

William hit the floor with a thud and turned wounded fake hurt eyes at Mike.

“Quit faking, Bill,” Mike said and offered a hand to help his lead singer up.

“Oh Michael! You do love me!” William grinned as he took the offered limb and let himself be hauled upwards.

“Do not,” Mike mumbled and let William drape over him.

“Now Mike, you know I am not a stupid man, but why did you think you could get away with this?”

Stiffening, Mike considered punching William in the junk and running away. “Get away with what?”

“Why, with whatever little bunny you have stashed away here in the glorious city of Angels?”

Mike could feel the grin against his cheek.

“There’s a taxi waiting outside for you to give directions to. Sisky packed you a bag for a couple of days and it’s waiting in the trunk of the taxi.” Mike felt himself being turned around so William was leaning his forehead against the top of Mike’s head. “Now, go see your young lady friend, the one you’ve been hiding the past year and we expect to see you in two days times, fresh and ready for more recording.”

Leaning into William a little bit, he nodded and pulled William into a quick hug. “Thanks.”

“You’ve been smiling more and grumping less this past year, Michael,” William said gently and pulled away. “I don’t know why you haven’t introduced her to us yet, but I’m sure there’s a good reason.”

“Yeah, there is,” Mike said softly. A good reason, like _her_ being a _him_ , and how Mike was bisexual, but the guys thought he was straight.

“All right, well when you can, we definitely want to meet her,” William grinned at Mike, tapping Mike’s nose. “Now, go visit your lady love and come back to us in a better mood.”

Mike chuckled and bid William goodbye as he headed for the main doors that led out of the recording studio and to the taxi that the others had gotten for him.

Sliding into the back seat of the taxi, he asked if his bag was in the trunk and once assured it was, he fired off the address to Kevin’s gated community.

The taxi rumbled as it pulled away from the recording studio and Mike pulled out his cell phone to fire off a quick text to Kevin to let him know he was on his way—finally!

 _2 days of freedom finally on my way 2 c u_

Breathing a sigh of relief, Mike relaxed into the backseat of the taxi and watched the scenery pass him by.

His phone buzzed in his hand and he glanced down at the screen. A soft smile graced his face.

 _cant wait 2 c u 2 <3_

In no time at all, the taxi pulled up in front of the gated community where Kevin’s house was nestled behind the iron and stone gate that stood ominously. Tossing a handful of cash at the taxi driver and telling him to keep the change, Mike got out of the taxi and pulled his bag out of the trunk that popped open.

Walking up to the front doors, Mike entered in the code he had memorized and watched as the doors opened. It took him twenty minutes to reach the two-story house with a pool in the back that Kevin called home.

His pace quickened to the front door of the house as he dug out his own key. Pushing it into the lock, he was about to turn it when the doorknob turned on its own and the door opened.

A greeting almost escaped from Mike’s lips, thinking it was Kevin opening the door when he realized it was Joe.

“Joe?” Mike asked confused. “What are you doing here?”

“Hey Mike,” Joe greeted Mike and grabbed the bag. “Let me get that for you. Kevin’s waiting for you upstairs.”

Confused, Mike walked into the house and saw that Nick was here as well. “What’s going on, guys?”

“We can’t visit our brother?” Nick voiced the question aloud, but the tone of voice sounded wrong to Mike. Almost as wrong as Kevin sounded when they managed to talk a couple of days ago.

“What’s wrong?” Mike asked immediately.

“Look, Mike, just go upstairs and talk to Kevin first,” Joe said gently. “He’ll explain everything.”

Glancing at the two, both looking at him with concern, Mike nearly raced up the stairs and to Kevin’s bedroom. “Kevin!”

Kevin was sitting on the edge of the bed, looking small and young.

Crouching down in front of Kevin, Mike gently lifted Kevin’s face up with his fingers and looked into his boyfriend’s eyes. “Hey you.”

Kevin gave a watery smile. “Hey.” He gently kissed Mike on the cheek then peppered Mike’s face with little kisses before settling his forehead on Mike’s shoulder and breathing in a steady rhythm.

Hands came up and stroked Kevin’s back in a comforting manner. “You okay? You’re not breaking up with me, are you?” He joked.

Startled, Kevin sat up, eyes wide. “NO! No I’m not breaking up with you, but after I tell you what’s going on I’m not sure you’ll still want to be with me.”

Mike brought his hands up to Kevin’s face and brought him forward kissing Kevin on the lips, deeply and fully. “Whatever you tell me, I’ll still want to be with you, Kev.”

Tears prickled Kevin’s eyes before he took a deep breath and spoke. “I’m sick.”

“Okay,” Mike said slowly. “What kind of sickness?”

Kevin mumbled something Mike couldn’t hear and moved his hands to Kevin’s shoulders. “What was that, babe? I couldn’t hear you.”

“I said I have cancer.”

Stilling, Mike knew his hands were tightening on Kevin’s shoulders but all he could hear was _cancercancercancercancer_.

“Mike!”

Shaking his head, Mike let go of Kevin’s shoulders. “Sorry, just, did you go to the doctor? Are they sure about this?”

“Yes, the doctor was very sure,” Kevin nodded.

“What kind of cancer?”

“It’s called chronic lymphocytic leukemia,” Kevin explained. “My family is being tested to see if their bone marrow matches mine, to be donors, and I was hoping you would too.”

“Of course, babe! You know I will,” Mike said, kissing Kevin on the cheek and then a thought occurred to him. “How long have you known you’ve been sick?”

“Almost a couple of weeks,” Kevin said softly. “But I’ve been tired and sick the past couple of months and then there were bruises before that.”

Mike remembered seeing the bruises while they were intimate, but he attributed it to Kevin being a bit clumsy. “Two weeks and you’re only telling me now?”

Kevin looked hurt. “I couldn’t tell you something this important over the phone. It wasn’t right.”

Any angry retort that Mike might’ve said died on his tongue as he really looked at how sad and hurt Kevin looked. He pushed down the urge to punch something and pulled Kevin into a hug. “Okay, I understand why you didn’t tell me until now.” He didn’t like it, but he understood.

Sagging into the hug, Kevin soaked up all the warmth and love that Mike was giving him.

“Have you started chemo yet?”

Kevin nodded against Mike’s chest. “A day after I got the news.” Then he stiffened; a queasy feeling in his stomach. Kevin broke away from Mike’s hold and sprinted to his in-suite bathroom and fell forward in front of the toilet as he threw up his breakfast.

A hand rubbed circles on his back as he continued to heave. Taking a couple of deep breaths as he finished, Kevin spat out the leftover bile in his mouth and reached up to flush the toilet.

Slowly getting to his feet, Kevin leaned backwards into the hand that had never left his back.

“You okay?”

Kevin nodded against Mike’s chest. “Side effects of the chemo.”

“All right,” Mike said. “How about you rinse out your mouth and brush your teeth, and we’ll go lie down on the bed. Get some rest.” He ran a hand through Kevin’s hair.

“Yeah, that sounds like a good idea,” Kevin agreed sleepily. “The chemo has been making me extra sleepy.”

Mike smiled softly at Kevin. “I’ll go get the bed ready.”

Mike padded out of the bathroom and went to go turn the bed covers down when he realized he was holding something in his hand. Glancing down, Mike felt his stomach flip as he saw he was holding a small clump of curly hair—Kevin’s hair.

Quickly tossing the hair into a nearby trash bin, Mike pulled the bed covers back and changed into a pair of sweat pants and tried not to cry. He needed to be strong at the moment for Kevin.

Mike laid down on the bed and smiled as Kevin came out and changed into his own pair of sweats. They were long past any type of discomfort that nakedness might show to them.

Watching lazily as Kevin crawled under the covers and curled up close to him, Mike pulled the blanket over top of them and wrapped his arms around Kevin.

“Hey, love you, babe,” Mike said to Kevin with a smile.

Kevin smiled back. “Love you too.”

~~~

It was a few hours later and Mike was still awake. Kevin was curled up around him and finally sleeping. Brushing a hand through Kevin’s hair, Mike was careful not to let his fingers get tangled and grab any more clumps of hair. He still had yet to tell Kevin what happened earlier.

Fucking chemo.

Slowly untangling himself from Kevin’s arms, who made an unhappy noise at the lost of warmth, Mike grabbed one of his pillows and placed it in Kevin’s arms. Kevin snuggled into it, soft snuffling sounds escaping from his nose and lips.

After taking care of business in the bathroom, Mike headed down to the kitchen in search of something to eat and drink. What he finds instead is Nick and Joe eating.

“He finally told you?” Nick asked Mike.

Mike nodded. Not trusting his own voice, he might start breaking things if he spoke.

Joe and Nick exchanged a look before heading over to Mike and pulling him into a quick hug.

“Thanks, munchkins,” Mike lightly joked and gave them a quick hug back.

“Where’s Kevin?” Nick asked as he went back to his sandwich.

“Asleep upstairs,” Mike answered. “He was throwing up a bit earlier.”

Joe nodded, sighing. “Yeah, side effects of the chemo.”

“What are the other side effects?” Mike asked. “Kevin didn’t go much into this, and I didn’t want to push him when it took so much to tell me.”

“Loss of appetite, vomiting, loss of hair, tiredness and weakness,” Nick explained as he ticked a finger off for each symptom. “There’s more, but those are the most common ones we were told.”

“Shit,” Mike sighed as he ran a hand through his short hair. “He doesn’t deserve this.”

“No, he doesn’t,” Nick agreed.

A crash from upstairs had them startled out of their melancholy mood as the trio raced upstairs. They dashed into Kevin’s room and approached the bathroom. They saw the oldest Jonas brother sitting on the ground amongst the broken remains of the mirror, a clump of hair clutched in his bloodied hand.

“I just went to brush my hair,” Kevin said slowly and he held his hand up with the hair clutched in it. “And it fell out and then something broke.”

Something in Mike splintered, but he wrapped it up and tossed it to the darkest corner of his mind as he carefully stepped forward. Kevin’s hand was a mess. “Let’s get you cleaned up, babe.”

Kevin glanced down and finally noticed his hand was bloody. A soft noise of surprise escaped from his lips. “Oh!” And then the pain hit. “Ow.”

“Joe, go grab the first aid kit; Nick, go grab a broom and dust pan to clean this glass up,” Mike ordered the two as they ran back downstairs. Hauling Kevin up, Mike snagged a towel and brought Kevin over to the edge of the bed.

Mike dabbed at the cuts, looking at Kevin in concern. “Babe?”

“Sorry, I’m just—sorry,” Kevin apologized as he ducked his head. “I didn’t mean to break the mirror, it just kind of hit me all at once and then—”

“The mirror looked at you funny, and you decided to punch its lights out?” Mike joked lightly.

Kevin chuckled. “Yeah, something like that.”

“All right,” Mike said and pulled Kevin into a hug. “How about next time you let me punch the mirror out?”

“Deal.”

Joe and Nick returned quickly, breaking off as Nick went to go clean up the glass shards in the bathroom and Joe brought the first aid kit over to Mike and Kevin.

Mike and Joe pulled out gauze, tweezers and Neosporin to clean the cuts up. Glass was carefully picked out with the tweezers, the Neosporin was applied all over the cuts and then the gauze was used to wrap up Kevin’s hand with care.

Nick soon returned, his task completed as he looked over in concern.

Looking up, Kevin offered a shy smile to his younger brother. “I’m all right, Nick.”

An eyebrow was raised. Kevin raised his own eyebrow in return.

The matter was settled.

END PART 1.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After receiving life-changing news, Kevin Jonas has to find the strength to carry on with the love and support of his family.

It was two hard days, but it was worth it to Mike. He was climbing back into the taxi and the last image of Kevin, hair shaved off as he kissed him goodbye, was still very vivid in his mind.

They had made love last night and then Mike, with a pair of shaving shears, shaved off all of Kevin’s hair, black curls falling to the ground as Mike shaved the hair with tears in his eyes.

It was the single hardest thing that Mike ever had to do and now he was going back to the real world outside of being _MikeandKevin_ —back to lying to his band mates, back to being in the closet.

Fuck, what was he going to do?

These kinds of thoughts plagued his mind as the taxi pulled back up in front of the recording studio. Tossing some money at the cabbie, he grabbed his duffle bag out of the trunk and strolled inside. Mike slid inside the building and headed to the studio they were using to lay down tracks for their new record.

Mike tossed his duffle to the side and grabbed his guitar, plugging it into the amp.

Taking a deep breath, fingers poised over the strings, he let himself fly over the notes. He lost himself in the music, music that conveyed his anger and frustration at Kevin’s cancer, his inability to wave his hand and cure his boyfriend, his inability to be there all the time and his choice to stay in the closet about being bisexual.

With a scream of rage and frustration, Mike ripped his guitar off its strap and then slammed the instrument straight into the ground. Raising it above his head he slammed it into the ground again and again and again until nothing was left except the destroyed remains of the guitar, the strings and the neck still in his hand. Mike panted with exhaustion, and a noise caught his attention. He looked up at the wide-eyed expressions of his band.

William though, William looked contemplative as he ushered the others out of the room and proclaimed that “he would take care of this; why didn’t everyone go and get some breakfast and be back in an hour or so.”

Letting go of the neck of his former guitar, Mike sunk down to the ground, like a puppet whose strings had been cut. William was instantly at his side, going to the ground with him as he pulled Mike close in a hug.

Burrowing his face into William’s neck, Mike started to cry. Great big gulping sobs took over as he shook and William was rubbed his back, whispering soothing nonsensical words.

It was the kind of cry he hadn’t had since he was seven and realized that his dog Cola wasn’t coming back.

Mike pulled William into a hug and was glad as he calmed down that this slightly crazy man was his friend.

A conversation he remembered having with Kevin about if he ever had to come out to his band filtered through Mike’s brain in between getting snot all over William’s neck. Kevin gave him the one-hundred percent go ahead to do so, and he never needed to ask for permission because he already had it.

He had a feeling that day to come out was today.

He was starting to calm down now as he pulled away from William slightly, but still held on. Bringing his hand up, he scrubbed at his face and rested his head on his singer’s shoulder.

“Did she break up with you?”

Startled at the sudden question, Mike shook his head no against William’s shoulder. “We’re still together.”

“Something else then?”

A shudder ran through Mike’s body as he breathed out a, “Yes.”

Long nimble fingers started to play with Mike’s short hair, calming him down further. “I haven’t seen destruction like that since Tom was part of the band, Michael. So whatever happened between you and your lady love, it must’ve been pretty bad.”

It was now or never.

“It’s cancer, Bill,” Mike replied and took a deep breath to lower the axe even further. “ _He_ has cancer.”

The fingers stilled.

“I’m bi, and I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, but I didn’t know how,” Mike explained.

It was a testament to Bill’s character that he didn’t as much as blink at the pronoun change. “Would you still have told me, us, if he didn’t have cancer?”

“Yes.”

“All right, my destructive friend, who is this young man that I’ve been calling your lady love.”

Mike chuckled. “I told him you said that and he gets a kick out of it. But his name is Kevin. Kevin Jonas.”

William tightened his hold on Mike. “You’re dating one of Disney’s biggest money makers?”

“Yeah, yeah I am,” Mike said, nodding. “And I love him, Bill. He doesn’t deserve this.”

“They rarely do, Mike,” William replied, and the fingers resumed their petting.

Mike finally looked at the destruction around him and sighed. “I think I killed my guitar.”

William laughed. “Yes, you did.”

“That was my favourite guitar!”

“We’ll get you a new one.”

And Mike stilled, because he told Bill, but now he had to tell the others.

A finger lightly tapped him on the nose and Mike found himself looking up at William. “None of those kinds of thoughts, young Carden. The others will accept you; don’t you worry one little bit.”

“I could’ve been thinking about something else,” Mike said petulantly, a little angry that William knew him so well, but relieved at the same time.

“But I know you, Mike, and sometimes you worry about the strangest things,” William replied.

Mike leaned into William a bit more. The petting was relaxing, and he found himself drifting off. The last couple of days were finally catching up with him. He was worn out, both physically and mentally, and his eyes finally closed.

~~~

When Mike woke up, his head was pillowed in someone’s lap, and he realized two things—he was inside the recording booth, and someone was petting his hair. It felt nice. Blinking a couple of times and bringing a hand up to rub the grime out of his eyes, he turned his head to see he was resting against William.

A cup of coffee and a McDonald’s bag were on the table in front of him. Mike slowly sat up, rubbing his eyes as he went.

The rest of the band was also in the room, trying to ignore them on the couch.

“How long have I been asleep?” Mike asked hoarsely as he yawned.

“A couple of hours,” William replied. “You needed the rest, Michael.”

Mike just nodded. It was true; he did need the rest. “Have you told the others anything?”

“Just that you would explain when you woke up,” William said and he placed a hand on Mike’s shoulder. “And Mike, they will understand.”

Nodding, Mike hunched over with his hands clasped in his lap. He really didn’t want to do this right now, but he owed the others some kind of explanation.

A sharp whistling sound from William’s lips got the other’s attention and they headed over.

“So, someone wants to tell us what earlier was about? And why Mike had to kill his favourite guitar to work through it?” Michael Guy asked as he perched on a chair.

“Mike?” William prompted. “Remember what I said.”

Mike looked up at William, his hands still clasped in front of him.

“Something wrong with the lady love?” Butcher asked, leaning against the soundboard.

“Did you two break up? Is that why that poor guitar was sacrificed?” Sisky inquired from his spot next to William.

“No, we didn’t break up and yes, something is wrong with _him_ ,” Mike stated, stressing the word him.

“Ah, the pronoun game, you play it well, Carden,” Butcher grinned at Mike.

Mike rolled his eyes. _He’d been playing the pronoun game for years; of course he’d be good at it._

“I knew it!” Sisky stated excitedly as he pointed at Mike and then his finger curled back, his hand forming a fist, as he looked confused. “So what, you’re gay? Because we’ve seen you with women before, Mike.”

Mike felt his jaw almost drop before he managed to keep it close. His lips forming a hard, thin line. _He was going to kill someone when this was all done. Most likely Sisky. William would forgive him._

“We’ve had some suspicions, Mike, but we were waiting for you to tell us something,” Butcher explained softly, his eyes looking nothing but honest.

 _Oh._ Mike mouthed.

“Not me; I remained clueless,” William interjected.

Mike gave William a look.

Michael Gay shrugged. “So, gay?”

“Bi,” Mike corrected, leaning back into the couch. “I mean, I’ve dated a couple of guys before, but it’s been mostly women. I don’t really see the gender, just the person, and I’ve never wanted to be labelled, but if you had to, bisexual is what you would use to describe me.”

“But you felt you had to keep this person a secret,” Butcher pointed out. _From us_ came the unspoken words.

That stung, but it had been his choice to keep everything (everyone) secret and now everything was coming out, literally.

“It’s not that I wanted to keep him a secret from everyone but I’d come out to someone before and it wasn’t pretty,” Mike explained, the old pain still fresh after all these years. “It made me a bit gun shy in sharing that I like both girls and guys.”

“Understandable,” William agreed and levelled the others with a look so they wouldn’t push.

“But I want to know,” Sisky whined.

“No,” Mike said firmly.

Sisky pouted at Mike.

“So what’s going on that you’re suddenly sharing all of this with us?” Butcher asked.

“He’s sick, like really sick,” Mike started to explain and then took a deep breath. Time to lower the bombshell. “He has cancer.”

Various curses erupted from Butcher’s, Sisky’s and Michael Guy’s lips.

“What kind of cancer is it actually?” William asked, hand coming up to play with Mike’s hair again. “You never told me earlier after your guitar’s death.”

Mike leaned into the touch. “Leukemia.”

“Shit,” Sisky muttered.

“Would you have told us about him if he wasn’t sick?” Michael Guy asked Mike in genuine concern.

“Yeah,” Mike muttered. “Eventually.” He then levelled the others with a look. “I’m making an appointment with his doctor to see if I can donate bone marrow for him,” Mike stated. “His family are already going to donate, but hey, every bit helps, right?”

“Of course!” William agreed readily.

“Did you want us to donate as well?” Sisky asked as he bounced in his spot a couple of times.

Mike looked stunned. “I— I don’t know. I’ll ask his family.”

“Who is this guy anyway? We’ve seen you acting smitten the past year Mike, drinking less and your temper has been down as well,” Butcher pointed out. “It’s the happiest I’ve seen you in a long time.”

“He’s Kevin Jonas.”

“You’re dating a Disney star?” Michael Guy asked in surprise.

“So what?” Mike asked defensively and glared in Michael Guy’s direction.

Michael Guy held up his hands. “Easy, Mike. Meant no offence, just surprised.”

“All right,” Mike said warily.

~~~

After the day of revelations, the band decided they weren’t going to get any recording done and had retired to the house they rented while they recorded in L.A.

Curling in one of the chairs outside near the pool as the sun slowly set in the distance, Mike idly flipped his phone in between his fingers before taking a deep breath, stopping his play and he hit memory one.

The phone rang a couple of times before a sleepy voice answered. “H’lo?”

“Hey,” Mike whispered softly. “Did I wake you?”

“Mmm,” Kevin mumbled. “Chemo makes me sleepy, s’alright.”

Mike smiled at the slight slur and gripped his phone a bit tighter. “So, I uh told the guys about me—about us.”

There was a startled curse on the other end and Mike could hear the phone being dropped and then picked up again. “Mike?”

“Kevin?” Mike parroted back with a small smile.

“Are you okay?” Not, were they okay with us, but if he was okay. A warm happy feeling settled in Mike’s chest and he was so grateful he had met this man. “Yeah, I’m okay. They, uh, they took it surprisingly well.”

“I told you they would,” Kevin replied matter of fact. “I’m glad I don’t have to sick Frankie on them. I don’t think Disney could survive a war with the Decaydance family.”

Mike laughed into the phone. “I don’t know; Selena Gomez looks like she could cut a bitch.”

This time, Kevin laughed into the phone. “She totally could!”

A comfortable silence settled over the phone as Mike stretched a little on the pool chair.

“They want to meet you, Kev,” Mike finally said.

“Oh?” the inquisitive noise came over the line.

“Yeah. They want to meet the man who could tame ‘the wild Carden,’” Mike lightly joked as he adjusted the grip on his cell. “Bill’s words, not mine.”

“Tame the wild Carden, huh?” Kevin’s voice was low and it makes something in Mike sit up and pay attention. Rubbing a hand over his stomach, Mike let a lazy grin flit across his face. “Didn’t we attempt that the first time I visited you?”

“I don’t think my bed frame has been the same since then,” Kevin chuckled, still low and breathy.

Anything Mike might say next is interrupted by the backdoor opening and Butcher’s voice yelling at him. “MIKE! Bilvy says to get your ass back in here for dinner and stop having phone sex!”

Mike could hear the ‘eep!’ on the other end, because that’s exactly how the phone call was starting to go and he’s wondering if justifiable homicide is worth it.

“Mike!!” Kevin’s voice calls him back from his daydream of murdering his lead singer and drummer and gave a non-committed grunt. “Killing Bill or Butcher is not the answer, no matter how much you want to.” And Mike knows that Kevin knows him well with that kind of statement.

“Go eat dinner and call me later on,” Kevin orders. “And I’ll be happy to meet your band when a day can be arranged.”

And even though Kevin can’t see him, Mike smiled at the phone. “Love you.”

“Love you too.”

~~~

It was a week later before The Academy Is... could get away from the recording studio to finally meet Kevin Jonas. To Mike, it was three weeks since Kevin had found out he had cancer.

The van they had rented pulled up to Kevin’s house. The meeting they decided on would go better if they had some privacy behind the gated community.

They piled out of the vehicle and William posed, hand on his hip with his sunglasses tilted downwards as he whistled low. “This is quite the home.”

“C’mon Beckett, Kevin’s expecting us,” Mike orders as he grabs William by the arm and pulled him forward towards the front door. William is laughing at him, the fucker. “Eager to see your boy?”

Mike ignores the question and let go of William’s arm as he digs his key out of his jeans pocket. The others trailed behind them.

Nick opens the door.

“Hey Nick,” Mike greets the younger Jonas, pulling his hand from his pocket. It was always freaky how they knew he was always at the door.

“Mike,” Nick greets back and glances around Mike. “Mike’s band.”

“Younger Jonas!” William proclaimed with a flourish of his hand.

Nick snorted and stepped aside to let them in.

“Thought you, Joe and Frankie were going to the hospital today for the bone marrow donation?” Mike absently asked Nick.

“Joe and Frankie can donate, I can’t,” Nick complained as he shut and locked the door behind them. “Stupid diabetes.” A scowl was firmly on his face.

“That sucks,” Sisky commiserated as he pulled Nick into a one armed hug.

Nick pushed the bassist off of him, scowl firmly in place. “Kevin’s making up some snacks in the kitchen.”

“Should he be moving around much since he’s sick?” Michael Guy asked as they moved into the living room.

“He’s sick, not disabled,” Nick growled at Michael Guy.

“Easy fluffy, he didn’t mean anything about it,” William soothed.

“Whatever.” Nick dismissed them and headed to the kitchen. “KEVIN! Mike and his band are here!”

“Thanks NICK!” Kevin called from the kitchen.

The others idly walked around the living room checking out various pictures and settling onto the furniture. Helping themselves to the chips and dip that were laid out.

Within a few minutes Nick has trailed out from a doorway, arms laden with cans of drinks, Kevin following behind him carrying a tray filled with veggies and dip. He was clad in a pair of jeans shorts cut off at the knees, a ratty grey t-shirt with a faded ‘The Who’ on it and a sparkly blue scarf wrapped around his head.

“Isn’t that your t-shirt?” William murmured at Mike with a leer and grin.

“Shaddup,” Mike mumbled back, cheeks staining red.

Tray and drinks set down, Mike was getting up and pulling Kevin into a quick hug. “Hey,” was murmured against Kevin’s neck.

“Hey you,” Kevin replied back and then looked over Mike’s shoulder to grin at William.

The grin was returned as William stood up and embraced the two. “Eldest Jonas! It’s a pleasure to finally meet you!”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you as well,” Kevin said politely.

“He has manners!” William stated grandly and looked at Mike. “What in the world is he doing with you?”

“Fucker,” Mike muttered and elbowed William in the ribs.

“Yes Mike, what in the world am I doing with you?” Kevin asked, eyes dancing with laughter.

Mike snorted and pulled Kevin tight against him. Lowering his head down, he captured Kevin’s lips in a heated kiss, wolf whistles sounded out and one “Ew, Kevin!” and after about ten seconds, William had timed it, Kevin pulled away dazed and blinked. “Oh right, I remember now.”

Mike merely smirked as he guided Kevin to the couch and drew him close as they sat down.

“So, Kevin, can I call you Kevin?” William inquired and at Kevin’s nod, continued on. “How in the world did you and our Mike meet?”

Here Kevin laughed as Mike groaned. “We met in an elevator at a hotel and promptly got stuck in it for a few hours.” Kevin lightly rubbed Mike’s thigh in comfort. “We didn’t even realize who the other one was and got talking about guitars, music, and the weather.”

“Whatever we could to pass the time and wait for the maintance guy to come and let us out,” Mike said, grabbing Kevin’s hand and stilling it.

“I first thought when we got stuck in there you were kind of shifty looking,” Kevin admitted with a small smile. “Long hair and smelling like booze.”

“Oh yeah, not one of my best nights,” Mike winced in remembrance of the bender he went on the night before.

The others laughed as they sampled the food platter and drinks.

“Then they got the elevator fixed and the swarm descended,” Kevin grinned, tongue poking out between his teeth at Mike groaning again.

“Pre-pubescent girls, man, seriously,” Mike complained. “They grabbed places I’m sure they shouldn’t have been grabbing.”

The others laughed and poked fun at Mike getting groped.

“The security detail got jackets over our heads and herded us out, avoiding the rest of the girls,” Kevin explained and grabbed one of the drinks. He opened it, took a sip, and offered it to Mike, who guzzled half of it down to Kevin’s mock glare.

“That’s when I kind of realized who I was with,” Mike sighed and then grinned at Kevin.

“I still didn’t know who Mike was,” Kevin laughed and stole his drink back.

Mike mock glared at Kevin, who mock glared back in return.

“You two are absolutely adorable,” William cooed at them.

“Oh yeah, absolutely adorable, especially when you walk in with your brother’s hand down his boyfriend’s pants,” Nick smirked at Kevin and Mike.

“Oh we are so kidnapping you for stories to share,” Sisky crowed from his position on the floor, carrot stick in hand.

Kevin was just mouthing _‘Evil’_ at his brother who smirked back.

“I want to hear more about how they escaped from the rabid fan girls,” Michael Guy grinned at them.

“Well, we escaped and got up to my hotel room,” Kevin explained. “I asked him out for coffee as an apology for all that, he said yes and it went from there.”

“Oh, I’m sure there is more to that yes than both of you are saying,” Butcher pointed out as he reached over for a piece of broccoli.”

“There is, but that’s all you’re hearing about for now,” Mike stated, ending the conversation.

Kevin then leaned over Mike and grinned at William. “I wouldn’t mind hearing some Mike stories.”

William returned the grin and scrambled over Mike and Kevin to press against Kevin’s side. “Oh eldest Jonas, we are going to get along beautifully.”

It descended from there and conversations happened all around them.

A couple of hours into their get-together, Kevin was starting to yawn and droop a little. He was leaning heavily against Mike, fighting to stay awake.

Mike pressed the side of his head against Kevin’s scarf, which was resting on top of Kevin’s head. “Hey.”

“Hey,” Kevin whispers back.

“Tired?”

Kevin nodded. “Mmm-hmm.”

Mike pressed a kiss to the top of the scarf. “Off to bed with you then. Nap time.”

“But the others,” Kevin started to protest.

“It’s okay, I’ll take care of things,” Mike promised and then helped Kevin up.

“Everything okay, Mike?” Sisky asked.

“Yeah, Kevin’s just tired,” Mike said, keeping a firm hold on Kevin. “So I’m putting him to bed.”

Various cat calls and whistles sounded out, which drowned out Mike’s laughing, “Fuck off.” Kevin chuckled as he was led up the stairs.

“They tease because they care, Mike,” Kevin pointed out as he flopped down on the bed.

“I know.” He went to work divulging Kevin of his scarf, t-shirt and cut-off shorts, leaving the guitarist in his underwear. Mike had to keep back the startled gasp, because even though it had only been a few days, Kevin looked thin.

Blinking, Kevin gazed through long eyelashes and pulled Mike down for a kiss, as Mike too took off his clothes and joined Kevin under the covers.

Kevin instantly fell asleep, pressed against Mike’s side.

END PART 2


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After receiving life-changing news, Kevin Jonas has to find the strength to carry on with the love and support of his family.

Two weeks had passed since Mike’s dual lives had met. Kevin and Mike’s band had gotten along wonderfully, and he couldn’t be happier about that fact.

Idly rubbing his thigh, the throbbing making itself apparent, Mike couldn’t help but smile. He had donated marrow for Kevin a couple of days ago and they would be testing it to see if it was a match. In a couple of days, the rest of his band mates would go and donate their own marrow.

It had been devastating to learn from Kevin that no one in his family was a viable donor, and he could only hope one of Mike’s band was. If not, then they would be looking at the donor pool that the hospital had on file.

Now that Mike had come _out_ , he could divide his time between his band putting the final touches on their album and Kevin. He knew William was going to be talking to Pete soon, hoping to put touring off right away so Mike could spend some time with Kevin. The label had waited this long; they could wait a little while longer.

He was brought out of his musings when Sisky came running at him down the hall of the recording studio and literally skidded to a stop in front, narrowly missing taking them both out.

“Hey, where’s the fire, Sisk?” Mike asked in a good mood for once.

“Mike, you got outted,” Sisky stated bluntly.

Mike felt the bottom of the world drop out from underneath him. “What?”

“Someone recorded you and Kevin leaving the hospital, sharing a kiss, and TMZ is airing it,” Sisky managed to get out in one breath. “An anonymous source identified you and Kevin.”

Quickly pulling out his cell phone, ignoring the multiple texts sent his way, he hit the contact button for Kevin and listened to it ring.

“Hello?”

“Kevin?” Mike asked desperately.

“Mike?” Kevin sounded liked he was waking up. “Hey.”

“Have you seen anything on the news recently?”

“Um, no.”

“Someone outted us and there’s a recording of us leaving the hospital,” Mike blurted out.

There was a shaky gasp on the other end. “Do— do they know why we were leaving the hospital?”

Mike shook his head. “I don’t think so, but we’re going to have to do damage control.”

“Shit,” Kevin breathed and it was the first time Mike heard Kevin actively swear about everything. “Okay. Are you going to be okay being outted like this?”

“No,” Mike said honestly. “But I don’t really have a choice anymore.” He gripped his phone tightly. “I’m not ashamed of you or anything. It’s just, I would’ve liked to come out on my own terms if I had too.”

“I know,” Kevin replied. “Hey, I love you.”

“Love you too,” Mike replied back and pressed a kiss into the mic.

The shut off and Mike breathed in deep and then out.

“Are we going to be paying for damage to the studio?” Sisky asked. It was a valid question, especially in Mike’s case; things did tend to get damaged if Mike was pissed. But he shook his head no. “Not right now.”

“We call Pete?” Sisky asked.

“We call Pete,” Mike agreed.

~~~

Jonas Brothers Blog

The Jonas Brothers are addressing the recent footage of our brother Kevin Jonas outside a hospital wearing a scarf on his head and kissing a man.

Kevin was recently diagnosed with leukemia.

He was filmed coming outside the hospital after treatment with his partner Mike Carden of The Academy Is... (We have permission to release his name).

We ask that everyone please respect the privacy and wishes of the family during this trying time.

Thank you.

~~~

The Academy Is... Blog

Hello Friends!

TAI are going a little bit serious during this blog post and we ask that you be patient with us. Recently, footage of our very own Mike Carden aka Santi was sent to TMZ of him and his very lovely boyfriend, Kevin Jonas, outside of a hospital, kissing! *gaspshockhorror*

Mike at this point would like to say he is bisexual, and yes, he realizes he just outted himself and to get over yourself if it offends you.

Now, Kevin Jonas was diagnosed with leukemia, a very nasty type of cancer, and we ask our lovely fans that you respect his and our privacy while he and Mike go through this very trying and difficult time.

Sincerely,

William, Mike, Adam, Butcher & Michael

~~~

After the blog announcements, the support from the fans of both the Jonas Brothers and The Academy Is... were touching and overwhelming to Kevin and Mike.

Gifts and stuffed animals were donated to various charities, while the more personal and touching items were kept.

Kevin was first diagnosed eight weeks ago, and the fever that accompanied his announcement at having cancer and being gay had finally died down. It was also the day Kevin would find out if his cancer was gone enough for the bone marrow donation.

Kevin and Mike lay in their shared bed together. A day of answers was waiting for them.

“I’m scared of what we find out today,” Kevin quietly admitted as he curled in close to Mike’s warm body.

“Me too,” Mike conceded and started to trace a pattern on Kevin’s arm. “But whatever happens, we get through it together, okay?”

“Okay,” Kevin accepted and shivered slightly against the touch.

~~~

Kevin was squeezing Mike’s hand with a strength that didn’t go with his current appearance. The chemotherapy had taken a toll on his body, and he was thinner, almost gaunt looking. His hair still had yet to grow back in fully, right now, the top of Kevin’s head was covered with a fine sheen of baby fuzz, but it was still kept covered with a scarf and hat.

His doctor opened his file and looked at Kevin with smiling eyes as the rest of the Jonas family waited with bated breath.

“I have some very good news, Kevin. The chemotherapy has destroyed all of the cancer cells.”

There were cries of joy and delight as a stunned Kevin was hugged and kissed.

Mike squeezed his hand in support.

Tears started to fall from Kevin’s eyes as he let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. He pulled Mike to him and clung while he wept.

They were given a moment of privacy while Kevin’s parents herded everyone else to the side of the room as Mike showered Kevin’s face with kisses and affection.

The moment was ruined though when Frankie saw what they were doing and muttered an, “Ew! Kevin!”

Chuckling, Kevin wiped away his tears and reluctantly pulled away from Mike to look at the doctor once more. Taking a deep breath, he nodded at the man. “With the cancer cells gone, what are my options?”

“As you know, we were unable to find any donors in your family, which is rare,” the doctor admitted with a huff of annoyance. “But the good news is, with the recent generous donation from your friends, we found an almost perfect match within one of them.”

Kevin’s eyes got wide and he squeezed Mike’s hand. “Who is it?”

Scanning the folder in front of him, he tapped the name on the page as he read it aloud. “William Beckett.”

“What?” Kevin squeaked out while Mike moaned. “He’s going to be impossible to live with after this.”

~~~

It was hours later when they finally left the hospital and Mike took Kevin back to the house, he was spending the night anyways. The surgery for the bone marrow donation would be happening this Saturday.

But they still had to check with William if he was okay with donating the marrow, they didn’t doubt he would be, but Kevin wanted to ask anyways.

A quick text had been fired off to William’s phone for permission and barely thirty seconds later, Kevin’s phone was ringing with ‘William Beckett’ displayed on the screen.

Smiling, Kevin answered his phone. “Hey William.”

 _“Of course I’ll fucking do it!”_ William half yelled into the cell.

Wincing as he held the phone away from his ear, Kevin chuckled. “Good to hear.”

 _“I’m saving a life here! Gerard Way who?”_ William crowed, and Kevin could just imagine the long-limbed man doing some sort of dance. _“When do you want my lovely marrow flowing through your bones?”_

“The hospital set it up for this Saturday, they want us there for ten in the morning,” Kevin explained.

 _“I shall be there with bells on, Jonas.”_ Click.

Kevin then looked at Mike. “I hope you can live with me when I start spouting flowery prose of your handsome self.”

Mike laughed. “I’m sure I’ll be able to contain myself.” He pulled Kevin in for a kiss, which Kevin happily returned.

~~~

It was like coming out of a very deep sleep. Kevin smacked his lips a couple of times as he stared at the ceiling.

 _Where was he?_

A beeping sound filtered through his ears and someone was squeezing his hand slightly. Turning his head, he blinked slowly and saw Mike holding his hand, smiling at him.

“Hey,” He said softly.

Someone else squeezed his other hand and he turned his head and looked up slightly. His mom had his other hand.

“Hey sweetie,” She smiled at him. His dad then popped into view, followed by Joe, Nick and Frankie.

“Hey Kevin,” Nick grinned at him.

“Hey,” Kevin smiled dopily. The drugs were still coursing through his system.

“I’m going to go grab a nurse,” Kevin Sr. said and disappeared.

Kevin blinked again and the room was dark and his family had disappeared. Frowning, he moved his head a little and saw Mike curled up in a chair next to the bed.

He blinked again and there was light in his room.

Licking his lips, he moved his head and saw Mike chatting to William who was sitting in a wheelchair.

“Mike?” Kevin rasped. Mike was at his side in an instant. “Hey you.”

“Water?”

A glass with a straw suddenly appeared in his line of vision. He sipped at the liquid slowly and then started to cough.

“Easy, easy,” Mike soothed and moved the water away from him. Breathing in deep, Kevin slowly became aware of the room.

“Mike,” Kevin said again and smiled at Mike.

Mike came in close and ran a hand down Kevin’s cheek. “Hey, the surgery went well. The doctor’s were making pleased noises.”

“William?”

William rolled into view. “I am here, eldest Jonas.”

“You okay?” Kevin asked and then yawned. It was hard to form coherent sentences.

“I am doing fine; my donation to your lovely body went swimmingly on my end,” William declared with a flourish.

Chuckling weakly, Kevin felt his eyes starting to close again. “Good.” And he drifted back off to sleep.

Kevin continued to drift in and out over the next day, and by the third day after his surgery, he was staying awake longer.

Soon, he was being discharged and told to go home and keep up with regular appointments.

It was all so bizarre, after all that; here he was, being told to live his life again.

Like the cancer didn’t even matter.

They wouldn’t find out if the donation took for another couple of weeks and then after that if the cancer would be in remission or not, but for now, Kevin planned to make out with his boyfriend on his bed.

He planned to do ordinary people things and exist in this bubble of KevinandMike without worrying what anybody else thought.

 

EPILOGUE

Kevin sat down in the kitchen chair hard, hands barely holding onto his cell phone as he shook slightly. That was how Mike found him a few minutes later.

“Kev?” Mike asked worriedly as he tugged the cell out of Kevin’s hands.

It had been a few weeks since the surgery and the bone marrow donation from William. Kevin’s hair had grown back in, although a slight shade lighter and if possible even curlier than before which frustrated Kevin to no end.

Every doctor appointment after the surgery had involved test after test to make sure Kevin was healing and the donation was not being rejected.

So far, the news had been good and the doctor’s hopeful.

Mike placed the cell on the kitchen table behind Kevin and started to rub Kevin’s shoulders in a soothing manner, thumbs stroking the collarbone.

Kevin gave off a choked sob and buried his face into Mike’s t-shirt and just clung.

“Oh babe,” Mike whispered fearing the worst and tugged Kevin in closer. “I’m sure we can try the chemo again. And I know William will be more than happy to given another donation.”

Kevin shook his head no and Mike stilled. “You don’t want the chemo again?”

“No,” Kevin said muffled against the fabric of Mike’s shirt and he looked up, eyes wet and suspiciously bright and happy?

Frowning, Mike looked at Kevin in confusion. “Babe?”

“My cancer is in remission.”

Stunned, Mike’s eyes slowly widened and then he started to whoop loudly. Tugging Kevin out of his chair, Mike spun Kevin around laughing in delight.

Laughing, Kevin clinged tighter to Mike as he was flung around the kitchen and then his body was pressed against the kitchen counter. Mike leaned in close against Kevin’s body and pressed his lips against Kevin’s.

“He mentioned about needing a further bone marrow transplant because what little marrow I have left needs the help,” Kevin explained in between kisses. “But Mike, I’m in remission!” Kevin’s eyes glowed with happiness.

Pulling back slightly, Mike ran his fingers through Kevin’s curls and smiled softly. “Love you, babe.”

Returning the smile, Kevin kissed Mike back and leaned his forehead against Mike’s shoulder. “Love you too.”

 

THE END.


End file.
